King in the North (GoT)
King in the North '''was the title given to the sovereigns of the North before Aegon the Conqueror invaded Westeros. An unofficial title given to the rulers before the Targaryen dynasty was the "Kings of Winter". The ancient House Stark ruled the northernmost kingdom for thousands of years. The first legendary King in the North was Bran the Builder. He belonged to the ethnic group of the First Men and was said to have led the forces of the North against the White Walkers during the War for the Dawn. Moreover, he also constructed the Wall and Winterfell with the aid of the giants after theLong Night. It is also rumoured that he helped with the construction of Storm's End. History of the title The Primordial Kings in the North The Starks of Winterfell ruled as the ancient Kings in the North since the end of the Long Night. According to legend, the first of a great line of Kings in the North was Brandon Stark, commonly known as, Bran the Builder. He was said to have led the forces of the northmen during the War for the Dawn against the White Walkers. Following the end of the war, Bran the Builder also constructed the Wall with the aid of giants as well as the Night's Watch to guard and man the Wall for future attacks by the White Walkers. Furthermore, this was also when Winterfell's construction began. The Kings in the North were also able to defend their kingdom against foreign invaders such as the Andals, holding the line of the Neck at the choke point of Moat Cailin. This resulted in the North being the only independent kingdom of the First Men, with very liitle Andal influence and thus, worship of the Old Gods of the Forest continued in the region. Although rulers all across Westeros sent men and resources to the Night's Watch, the Stark kings had the duty of maintaining and policing the Watch when needed. This was because of their kingdom's close proximity to the Wall. This led to the Starks imprisoning and executing deserters, intervening when internal disputes occur, and even dealing with the threats that slipped past the Wall such as when the King-Beyond-the-Wall Raymun Redbeard slipped past with a massive wildling host. Aegon's Conquest During Aegon the Conqueror's invasion of Westeros, the reigning King in the North was Torrhen Stark. By the time Torrhen massed the armies of the North, Aegon had already had a decisive victory in the Field of Fire where the Kings of the Rock and the Reach had fallen and their remaining forces pledged to Aegon which meant that he had control of most of the southern kingdoms. Torrhen wisely surrendered and spared his people, seeing that there was no hope for the northerners to stand against Aegon's large armies and dragons which gained him the nickname, "the king who knelt". Seeing that Torrhen logically and mercifully spared the northerners, Aegon allowed House Stark to continue ruling the North as representers of the Iron Throne. This removed their status as sovereigns and instead they ruled as Lord Paramounts of the North and Wardens of the North. This resulted in the Starks continuing their traditions and cultures as they had for thousands of years, including policing the Night's Watch. Robert's Rebellion When Robert's Rebellion occurred, House Stark sided with the separatist forces. The assisted Lord Robert Baratheon against the loyalists which resulted in the Targaryen dynasty being overthrown and Robert being crowned as the new King on the Iron Throne. The Starks were one of the catalysts that led to the rebellion because Lyanna Stark, sister of Lord Eddard Stark was allegedly kidnapped by the crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, while her father and brother were burned alive on alleged charges of treason by the Mad King. Although the Targaryen dynasty was deposed, the Starks did not become an independent kingdom again, they remain faithful to the newly crowned King Robert I Baratheon as he was one of Eddard Stark's closest friends. The Neoteric Kings in the North When the War of the Five Kings started, the early stages included the fragmentation of the northern kingdoms. This included the proclamation of Robb Stark as the new King in the North by his vassals, the first in over three centuries. Outraged by the imprisonment and near execution of his brother, Castifer Stark by Daveth Baratheon's successor, Joffrey, the nobles of the northernmost kingdom, including the Riverlands openly rebelled against the Iron Throne. Joffrey had intended to execute Castifer Stark after imprisoning him to get the northern lords to submit to his rule but Castifer escapes before he could do so. Without the news of Castifer's escape reaching Robb in time, it drove the northern lords to their solid decision that they would never submit to Joffrey due to his transgressive actions against Eddard's children. is proclaimed "King in the North" by the lords of the North and the Riverlands.]] Robb's declaration as the new King in the North had revived the ancient Kingdom in the North after hundreds of years and thus, they declared their independence from the Iron Throne. Due to the northmen aiding the riverlords against House Lannister, the rivermen also declared for Robb when he was proclaimed the new king. This was also due to the fact that Robb's mother was a daughter of Hoster Tully, the Lord of Riverrun and Lord Paramount of the Trident and thus, Robb is by rights, a blood relation to House Tully, the leading lords of the Riverlands. Therefore, Robb's kingdoms includes both the North and the Riverlands. However, in practice, during the course of the War of the Five Kings, Robb's forces only maintain firm control of the Riverlands north of the Trident, particularly around the regional capital of Riverrun. All of the Riverlands south of there, between the Red Fork of the Trident and the Gods Eye, are a warzone between the forces of the North and the Iron Throne. is proclaimed the new "King in the North" by the remaining northern forces after the Red Wedding.]] The Kingdom in the North, temporarily came to halt after the Red Wedding, where the brother of Syhdred Bolton, Lord Roose Bolton, conspired with Walder Frey and Tywin Lannister against the northerners which initiated a massacre of the northern and riverlander forces as well as the murder of King Robb at the hands of Lord Roose Bolton. However, numerous amounts of survivors escaped and banded together under Castifer and Tytania, forming a militia of sorts called the Winter Contingency. Under the rule of the Boltons, who are now the Lords of Winterfell, Lord Paramounts of the North and Wardens of the North, the Winter Contingency set their goal to reclaiming Winterfell and restoring House Stark for the betterment of the people. During the numerous raids and full-fledged battles against Frey and Bolton forces on their way north, the Contingency continually recruited virtually anyone who are against the Freys and Boltons, thus creating a substantial combative force. After many struggles and raids, the leftover forces declared Castifer and Tytania as the new rightful sovereigns of the North, even though they had not yet achieved their goal and thus, Castifer and Tytania were the King and Queen in the North. During this time, the Order of the Cross, also known as, the Sparten Rangers, came into contact with the Contingency and eventually pledged themselves to Castifer, led by Ser Bylleron Swyft, Castifer's old friend. Though Castifer's reign was on a small scale, he gained the epithet, "Castifer the Elder" while his wife's was, "Tytania the True". After discovering that Jon Snow and Sansa Stark were still alive, Castifer reunited with his siblings at Castle Black with all of his forces. They later gathered an army of other northern houses still loyal to House Stark, the Free Folk, and the Knights of the Vale to retake Winterfell from House Bolton's rule in which they are successful at doing so. is proclaimed as the newest "King in the North" by the lords of the North and the Vale.]] With the remaining Bolton forces surrendering under the command of the new Lord Syhdred Bolton, Castifer stepped down from his role in favour of Jon who was proclaimed the new King in the North, properly reasserting the North's independence from the Iron Throne with strong support, this time allied with the Vale of Arryn whose Lord Paramount, Robin Arryn, is also a grandson of Hoster Tully, instead of the Riverlands, which had been completely dominated by the Lannisters and Freys due to their victory at the Second Siege of Riverrun. It is also here, that the Order of the Cross officially pledged their service to House Stark, favouring them over the Lannisters. Moreover, Walder Frey and all of his sons were secretly massacred shortly afterward by Arya Stark in retaliation for their roles in the Red Wedding, severely weakening the Freys' hold on the Riverlands. Known kings '''Ancient kings * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Brandon_Stark_(Builder) Brandon Stark] ― also known as Brandon the Builder, founder of House Stark and the first King in the North, alleged builder of Winterfell, Storm's End and the Wall. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Brandon_Stark_(Breaker) Brandon Stark] ― also known as Brandon the Breaker, who allied with Joramun to defeat the Night's King. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Jon_Stark Jon Stark] ― he built the Wolf's Den after driving sea raiders away from the White Knife. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Rickard_Stark_(king) Rickard Stark] ― also known as the Laughing Wolf, son of Jon, who defeated the Marsh King and extended the Stark kingdom to include the Neck. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Theon_Stark Theon Stark] ― also known as the Hungry Wolf ''who defeated the Andal warlord, Argos Sevenstar, conquered the Three Sisters and attacked the Fingers. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Edrick_Stark '''Edrick Stark'] ― also known as Edrick Snowbeard, who ruled for a near century but lost the Wolf's Den to the slavers from the Stepstones. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Brandon_Stark_(Ice_Eyes) Brandon Stark] ― also known as Ice Eyes, Edrick's great-grandson, who recovered the Wolf's Den from slavers. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Brandon_Stark_(Shipwright) Brandon Stark] ― also known as Brandon the Shipwright, who loved to sail and built up a mighty northern fleet thousands of years before Aegon's Conquest. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Brandon_Stark_(Burner) Brandon Stark] ― also known as Brandon the Burner, who burned the northern shipyards after the disappearance of his father, Brandon the Shipwright, on the Sunset Sea. The North has since had no strength at sea for centuries. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Dorren_Stark Dorren Stark] ― who reigned when Redwyn fought giants and traded with children of the forest. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Brandon_IX_Stark Brandon IX Stark] ― who destroyed the ships of the Skagosi. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Rodrik_Stark Rodrik Stark] ― who won Bear Island from the ironborn in a wrestling match and awarded it to House Mormont. This occurred after the death of the Old Kraken, Loron Greyjoy, a High King of the Iron Islands chosen in a kingsmoot. Rodrik's sons and grandsons battled the ironborn over Cape Kraken. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Harlon_Stark Harlon Stark] ― who centuries ago starved out the Dreadfort in a siege lasting two years. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Benjen_Stark_(Bitter) Benjen Stark] ― also known as Benjen the Bitter. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Benjen_Stark_(Sweet) Benjen Stark] ― also known as Benjen the Sweet. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Eyron_Stark Eyron Stark]. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Edderion_Stark Edderion Stark] ― also known as Edderion the Bridegroom. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Walton_Stark Walton Stark] ― also known as Walton the Moon King. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Brandon_Stark_(Bad) Brandon Stark] ― also known as Brandon the Bad. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Jorah_Stark Jorah Stark]. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Jonos_Stark Jonos Stark]. * [http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Edwyn_Stark Edwyn Stark] ― also known as Edwyn the Spring King. Recent kings * [https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Torrhen_Stark Torrhen Stark] ― also known as the King Who Knelt, who bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror, making the north part of the Seven Kingdoms subject to the Iron Throne. * [[Robb Stark (GoT)|'Robb Stark']] ― also known as the Young Wolf, the first King in the North and King of the Trident after Aegon's Conquest, who never lost a battle but died in the Red Wedding. He was also called the King Who Lost the North. * [[Castifer Stark|'Castifer Stark']] ― also known as the Gold Wolf, ''the second King in the North after Aegon's Conquest, who became king after the death of Robb Stark in the Red Wedding. He led the remaining forces to retake Winterfell from the perpetrators alongside Jon Snow. He was also called Castifer the Elder. * [[Jon Snow (GoT)|'Jon Snow''']] ― also known as ''the White Wolf, ''the third King in the North after Aegon's Conquest, who became king after Castifer Stark stepped down in favour of him. He gathered the Free Folk, the northerners and the valemen to prepare for the dreaded Second Long Night. Category:Articles by Swordpro51 Category:Title Category:Titles Category:Kings Category:House Stark Category:Kings in the North